NCAA accuses ASU baseball program of rules violations

University received formal notice a day before baseball coach resigned

The NCAA is accusing Arizona State University of at least one major rule violation for failing to maintain control of its baseball program, raising the chances that the school could be hit with severe sanctions.

That allegation and others follow an investigation by the NCAA into the baseball program and are being made while the university is on probation for major athletic violations four years ago. A second major infraction within the five-year probation could lead to sanctions that affect the entire athletic department.

The allegations by the National Collegiate Athletic Association are preliminary, and ASU will have several months to respond. ASU's case is not expected to go before the NCAA Committee on Infractions until June.

The Arizona Republic has learned that a "notice of allegations" was sent to university officials on Nov. 19, the day before university officials abruptly forced the resignation of baseball coach Pat Murphy. Murphy was the three-time reigning Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

At the time, ASU denied the resignation had anything to do with the NCAA investigation.

A portion of the notice obtained by The Republic shows that ASU is being accused of at least nine violations. A key one is that the university lacks "institutional control."

"It is alleged that the institution violated the principles of institutional control in that it failed to ensure adequate systems to monitor for compliance and provide adequate NCAA rules education involving the baseball program and student athletes," the NCAA stated on Page 15 of its notice.

ASU President Michael Crow and Lisa Love, vice president for athletics, declined to comment on the allegations.

"ASU is working with the NCAA on an investigation of the university's baseball program involving allegations of infractions of NCAA legislation," ASU spokesman Virgil Renzulli said in an e-mail Wednesday.

"This is an ongoing process, and we do not currently have an estimate for the completion of the effort and the release of results," Renzulli wrote.

Murphy also declined to comment on the allegations, on the advice of his attorneys.

"It is very frustrating that I am unable to set the record straight and state my side of the story," he said Wednesday.

If the NCAA finds a major violation occurred, it would be ASU's ninth such case since 1953, more than any other school in the country. ASU is now tied for violations with Southern Methodist University in Texas, which was given the "death penalty" by the NCAA in the 1980s when it banned the football program from competing for three years.

In November 2005, the NCAA put ASU on two years of probation for a lack of institutional control and impermissible financial aid. That case involved former football player Loren Wade receiving improper benefits from an athletic-department employee.

The NCAA also found that 61 athletes received impermissible financial aid from 2002 to 2004 and that athletes were improperly given books to sell for personal gain.

Penalties for a repeat case of lack of institutional control could include a prohibition of competition, including some or all postseason games. Penalties also could result in elimination of scholarships and recruiting restrictions in baseball.

Outside of baseball, the university could face multiyear probation, suspension or termination of staff and ASU officials being banned from NCAA leadership positions for up to four years.

ASU still has a chance to present mitigating information that could lead to a less severe outcome.

The NCAA is considering strengthening sanctions against major rules violators. A committee recommended tougher penalties to the Division I board of directors last year.

Committee Chair Josephine Potuto, a Nebraska law professor, said, "Penalties really have gotten out of sync with the magnitude of violations."

For two years ASU baseball has been under investigation after allegations of wrongdoing were made by a former baseball employee.

The university responded last year by hiring the Indianapolis legal firm of Ice-Miller to conduct an internal investigation. Those results were forwarded to the Pac-10, then to the NCAA.

Outlining a lack of institutional control, the NCAA included allegations that:

• More than 500 impermissible telephone-recruiting calls were made over five years.

The NCAA limits the number of calls to a recruit. It alleges that these 500 calls went undetected because the university failed to monitor recruiting efforts.

• The university failed to monitor the activities of managers and non-coaching staff over three years. The NCAA says the university was notified that some staffers had engaged in improper coaching activities in 2007 but continued to fail to monitor them.

• The baseball program committed violations over four years in its relationship with Athlete's Performance, a Phoenix-based sports-training company. The NCAA alleged that the university failed to monitor the relationship and the company's staff.

The notice of allegations also indicates issues related to PTM Programs for Youth, a non-profit started by Murphy to introduce baseball to children and the employment of student-athletes.

Murphy, who was earning more than $300,000 in base pay, was ousted as coach on Nov. 20, a day after the NCAA report arrived.

Love said that Murphy had resigned on his own initiative and that it was unrelated to the NCAA investigation.

Documents obtained by The Republic last week showed that Murphy was given the choice to resign or be fired. Murphy said he was terminated without "warning or explanation."

In addition to being named Coach of the Year, Murphy led ASU to the College World Series three of the past five years. ASU finished in the top 12 in the country in eight of the past 13 years.